Introduction
In 1994 the USS Portland Reunion Association published a limited edition collection of stories by crew members entitled We Remember. The book was so successful that a second, larger volume, We Remember II, followed.
Produced to record their experiences and observations while serving aboard Sweet Pea, these collections of stories are an invaluable chronicle of what it was like to serve on a heavy cruiser in war and peace.
With the permission of former president of the Reunion Association who was responsible for seeing these limited edition volumes through publication they are reproduced here so visitors to the website can read for themselves first-hand accounts of what it was like to serve aboard the USS Portland.
The We Remember volumes are presented here verbatim with the occasional notes and links to websites that will provide context for readers.
In 1994 the USS Portland Reunion Association published a limited edition collection of stories by crew members entitled We Remember. The book was so successful that a second, larger volume, We Remember II, followed.
Produced to record their experiences and observations while serving aboard Sweet Pea, these collections of stories are an invaluable chronicle of what it was like to serve on a heavy cruiser in war and peace.
With the permission of former president of the Reunion Association who was responsible for seeing these limited edition volumes through publication they are reproduced here so visitors to the website can read for themselves first-hand accounts of what it was like to serve aboard the USS Portland.
The We Remember volumes are presented here verbatim with the occasional notes and links to websites that will provide context for readers.
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PREFACE Vol I, p.
There is a moment in the life of every ship when it becomes more than an inanimate collection of steel and machinery - a moment when it takes on a life and "personality" of its own. It is difficult to fix that moment or to really define it, but to those men who serve in her it is very real, and it remains with them always.
So it was - and is - with USS Portland - CA 33. To those of us who trod her decks she was a living entity with a distinct character, and she remains so in our thoughts today, more than half a century since we went to sea in her.
These stories are of and by and about those men. This is not a history, though I have tried to keep it in chronological order. Rather it is a compilation of the "sea stories" as told by those who lived them. Some are humorous, some are serious, some poignant (and just perhaps some have been embellished) but all are the long remembered incidents that we wish to preserve for those who follow us.
We hope that you enjoy them.
FOREWORD Vol. II, p. 1
More than fifty years, and in some cases well in excess of sixty years, have passed since the incidents recounted in these pages occurred, yet the memories remain vivid. Countless others have been lost with the passing of many of our shipmates. That realization, that when we are gone the memories are gone with us if they have not been recorded somewhere, prompted "We Remember," printed in 1994.
The word spread and others responded with their stories and photographs. Hence "We Remember II." To all of them, my sincere thanks.
It is not a history, though every effort has been made to keep it in chronological order whenever practical. Very little editing has been done. The tales told are in the words of the individual whose story is being recounted. These are their experiences - as they remember them - as they lived them, recorded here for their children and grandchildren. Please enjoy them and remember.
Joe Stables
More than fifty years, and in some cases well in excess of sixty years, have passed since the incidents recounted in these pages occurred, yet the memories remain vivid. Countless others have been lost with the passing of many of our shipmates. That realization, that when we are gone the memories are gone with us if they have not been recorded somewhere, prompted "We Remember," printed in 1994.
The word spread and others responded with their stories and photographs. Hence "We Remember II." To all of them, my sincere thanks.
It is not a history, though every effort has been made to keep it in chronological order whenever practical. Very little editing has been done. The tales told are in the words of the individual whose story is being recounted. These are their experiences - as they remember them - as they lived them, recorded here for their children and grandchildren. Please enjoy them and remember.
Joe Stables
THE LOVE HE HAS LEFT AT HOME
Frank Haskell
There comes a time in a sailor's life
When he thinks of the folks at home,
The moments he has spent with his ma and pa
Tore he got this yen to roam.
When the pale moon shines
And the cold wind whines
Across the ocean's foam,
He thinks of the love that is waiting there
The love he has left at home.
When his ship sails into a foreign port
And he walks on a foreign strand,
There are no friends that come smiling forth
To give him a friendly hand.
He is left alone, strange lands to roam,
Like a lost dog hunting a bone.
That's when his wandering thoughts return
To the love he has left at home.
As he tells his tales of seagoing life.
You might think him a fortunate lad,
But there's more than one side
To a sailor's life.
The other is really quite sad.
He is sent to sea, a sailor to be,
Sent over the waters to roam.
But his spirit and thoughts have wandered back
To the love he has left at home.
As the long years pass, and time drags on.
There's an extra beat in his heart,
His eyes have a gleam that can't be missed.
Here's a chance for a fresh new start.
For his duty is done, his honor is won.
He has written his name on the foam
And the time has come when he can return
To the love he has left at home.
Frank Haskell
There comes a time in a sailor's life
When he thinks of the folks at home,
The moments he has spent with his ma and pa
Tore he got this yen to roam.
When the pale moon shines
And the cold wind whines
Across the ocean's foam,
He thinks of the love that is waiting there
The love he has left at home.
When his ship sails into a foreign port
And he walks on a foreign strand,
There are no friends that come smiling forth
To give him a friendly hand.
He is left alone, strange lands to roam,
Like a lost dog hunting a bone.
That's when his wandering thoughts return
To the love he has left at home.
As he tells his tales of seagoing life.
You might think him a fortunate lad,
But there's more than one side
To a sailor's life.
The other is really quite sad.
He is sent to sea, a sailor to be,
Sent over the waters to roam.
But his spirit and thoughts have wandered back
To the love he has left at home.
As the long years pass, and time drags on.
There's an extra beat in his heart,
His eyes have a gleam that can't be missed.
Here's a chance for a fresh new start.
For his duty is done, his honor is won.
He has written his name on the foam
And the time has come when he can return
To the love he has left at home.